Comet store remains open despite administration

THE under threat hight street chain Comet will remain open despite the company being in administration.

The store at Sears Retail Park is one of 236 stores nationwide which has been taken over by administrators Deloitte.

They have temporarily suspended the use of gift cards while they assess the situation, but Deloitte said all stores will remain open and all 6,600 staff will be paid.

The collapse of Comet is one of the biggest high street casualties since the demise of Woolworths in 2008 and follows on from the loss of JJB Sports last month.

Neville Kahn, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: "Our immediate priorities are to stabilise the business, fully assess its financial position, and begin an urgent process to seek a suitable buyer which would also preserve jobs.

"In the meantime, all stores will continue to trade and all employees will continue to be paid.

"We appreciate the co-operation and support from the management, staff, customers, landlords and suppliers at what is clearly a very difficult time."

Deloitte said Comet had been hit by weak high street trading conditions, competition from online rivals and being unable to secure the trade credit insurance needed to safeguard suppliers.

"The inability to obtain supplier credit for the peak Christmas trading period means that the company had no realistic prospect of raising further capital to build up sufficient stock to allow it to continue trading," added Mr Kahn.